Cyclone Sitrang has dealt a heavy blow to agriculture. Crops on 59,000 hectares in 19 districts were damaged, including 33,700 hectares of aman paddy and 25,200 hectares of vegetables and other crops. Aman plants in these fields are lodging, and where the rice had flowered the flowers have dropped. Vegetable fields are under water, and about a thousand fish enclosures have been washed away.

However, based on preliminary information, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) says the damage is not very great.

DAE director general Benojir Alam told Jagonews: "Cyclone Sitrang did not have much of an impact. From what we see initially, there has not been much damage. We had feared more damage than this."

According to the DAE's Field Services Wing, the affected districts are Bagerhat, Satkhira, Narail, Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Noakhali, Feni, Lakshmipur, Gopalganj, Shariatpur, Barishal, Pirojpur, Patuakhali, Jhalakathi, Barguna, Bhola, Cumilla, Brahmanbaria and Chandpur. Crops in 11 more districts beyond these were also damaged, but precise figures are not yet available.

According to the preliminary report, aman was grown on 1,650,300 hectares in the 19 districts, of which 33,700 hectares were affected.

Vegetables and other crops were grown on 42,618 hectares in these districts, of which 25,200 hectares were hit by Sitrang. The total affected area in the 19 districts is 58,900 hectares.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.